atroop711 Posted July 4, 2006 #1 Share Posted July 4, 2006 We are traveling with 2 small and my dh wants to take an excursion and leave the kids at Camp Carnival. Our oldest is 6yr and the baby is 2yr. My question is: Has anyone done this? I have many reservations (my own mommy paranoia:eek: ). Do you rec. it or not rec. it... Thanks for any insight! Annette:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinMImom Posted July 4, 2006 #2 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I haven't done this myself since my youngest is 18 months old and cannot go to camp carnival. Buy, I totally understand your mommy paranoia. Mine give me nightmares prior to our cruise! And I know that everthing will probably be just fine. I have read that some people are ok with this. And there are others who worry that something could happen (like for some insane reason they miss the ship due to injury, illness, or something beyond their control). They don't want to imagine the horror of watching their little ones sailing away with strangers when the boat leaves without them. I would question the length of the excursion and the time you'll get back to the ship. And would definitely book it through the cruise line, so they know where you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atroop711 Posted July 4, 2006 Author #3 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Thanks for posting. I think that my husband will either have to take an excursion alone or just do a beach excursion. I think the 2 yr old may be too young to leave. If for some reason she loves the camp and doesn't want to leave it, I can always check for spaces left in some excursions. I know my 6 yr old won't care because she is planning on spending as much time with other kids as possible in the camp. I hope some who have done this will chime in. I am still on the fence but leaning more to not leaving them Thanks for your post Annette:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinFinsUp Posted July 4, 2006 #4 Share Posted July 4, 2006 There has been a lot of discussion about this here - read thru the old postings for other comments. From what I've experienced, even if you book a tour thru the cruiseline, they do not know where you are, which "bus" you are on, (depending on which tour you take, they sometimes just split you up randomly and put you on little shuttles with no record of who is on which one) and they CANNOT contact you thru the tour (some drivers have cell phones, some may not) If you are walking around somewhere, the driver will likely not have his phone, etc etc. At a minimum, I would pre-arrange to have your cell phone active in the region you are going to - contact your cell provider. Give the number to the kids centre. Keep your phone on and at your side. I would also NOT go on the "first day" of the cruise - what if your child does not like the kids centre or needs time to adjust? Ensure your child is comfortable being left - do they go to nursery school or daycare? What are their policies regarding toilet training - is your 2year old fully trained? Are you required to come if there is an accident? Ask what is required of you. My kids are 3 and 6 and my big thing is that I would be an hour away even if they could reach me. Thats a long time in the event of an accident occurring on ship. It is very likely that nothing would happen and everything would be fine. But, would you spend the entire tour worrying and not enjoy it (I would!!). Personally, I'm far too much of a worry wart to leave them. Even on ship last time we got called because my son (3 year old - goes to nursery school) was just not happy, and needed to be back with us. We have successfully taken our kids on shore excursions - island tours or beach visits, butterfly farm - appropriate tours. We've had a great time, and enjoyed the family experience. Its a really tough call, and it depends on you, your kids, where you are going, how reachable you are, how far from the ship you are, and how comfortable you all are with the kids' counsellors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atroop711 Posted July 4, 2006 Author #5 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Thanks for your post. ITA with that you said. I am a worry wart too that is why I think that while my oldest would be comfortable with the situation, I think the baby is still too young to leave on the ship and be an hour away. We have been on 2 disney cruises with the kids and leaving them at the camp there was hard at first but we loved it (so did they). We will be on Carnival and they do change diapers as did Disney but I think we will take the kids with us and just do a beach excursion. I will revisit this option when my younger daughter is older! Thanks for your time! Happy 4th! Annette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieH Posted July 4, 2006 #6 Share Posted July 4, 2006 We have been having the same discussion. We are going on the Valor in August. My youngest will be 2 yrs old. I could NEVER leave her on the ship and go on an excursion without her. But, that is just me. Im just a worrier by nature. Plus, I would feel guilty that she wasnt with us. There are certain excursions we can not do because of her. We plan on hanging out on some of the beaches for awhile and just play it by ear. We figure there is always next time when she will be older, and can do more things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atroop711 Posted July 4, 2006 Author #7 Share Posted July 4, 2006 ITA...I feel the same way. I told my husband today that the excursions without the girls is a no-go:( ...I think when they get olders (esp. my baby) we can revisit this topic but I am too nervous to leave them on board without us or at least another family member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted July 5, 2006 #8 Share Posted July 5, 2006 When our daughter was 3, she stayed in Camp Carnival for a couple of the ports (we didn't feel Puerto Rico was too safe) and took her off in St. Thomas. We didn't stay off the ship all day (stayed within walking distance of the ports). Same thing when she was 5. When she was 7, we took her off in Ketchikan but she really wasn't interested in sightseeing so we asked if she wanted to stay onboard the Sapphire Princess for the other ports and she said yes. We did take an excursion in Skagway, but we booked it through Princess, which turned out to be the way to go as we got back to the pier after the scheduled sailaway time. And the Sapphire waited for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nliedel Posted July 5, 2006 #9 Share Posted July 5, 2006 We've left our kids with the onboard camp people, but they were older. I was not so sure about it, but they did a great job and the boys loved it. With a two year old though? I'm not sure about that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesluvscows2007 Posted July 5, 2006 #10 Share Posted July 5, 2006 My aunt went on her first crusie with my cousin who was 3 at the time, and took me along to babysit I was 15 at the time so it was ok. My aunt and I booked a shore excursion for the two of us. she was nervous to leave the 3 year old with Camp Carnival. But we were swimming with dolphins and as being 3 you can't swim very well. When we got off the ship she was nervous becasue of the kid being alone, but she eventually calmed down knowing that nothing really bad has ever happened to someone in Camp Carnival, I guess it's all up to your preference. I trust the cruise ships and they are really good about watching the kids and waiting for you if you miss your time. Usually the tour guides are good about calling the ship if your tour is running late. I hope this info helps Amy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atroop711 Posted July 5, 2006 Author #11 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Thanks Amy I think since my youngest will have just turned 2 yr old 3 wks before our trip, I will not be leaving her on the ship at the camp. I will rethink it the following yr when she is older. Thanks for your input. It is great to hear from others who have actually experienced it. Thanks again Annette, NYC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom247 Posted July 9, 2006 #12 Share Posted July 9, 2006 HI, I did a cruise on Norwegian in Feb when my daughter was three. I left her with the kids program for about five hours one day while I did an excursion in Belize. It worked out well because at this point she had been in the camp for a few hours each day and absolutely loved the two counselors, Anna Banana and Sam Samurai. It helped that the first day of the cruise we were at sea so she got to know the counselors and a few kids. They made it fun and took good care of her each time she was there. I had a pager while on the boat so if they needed to they could get me. I did the excursion with the ship which I see now was a good idea. Will do that from now on and make sure my phone is active with international calling. It is nerve wracking and I worried, worried the first time I left her and walked away. In fact I made a circle and came back by and peeked in the port hole to see how she was doing and she was fine.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJs Dad Posted July 10, 2006 #13 Share Posted July 10, 2006 From what I've experienced, even if you book a tour thru the cruiseline, they do not know where you are, which "bus" you are on, (depending on which tour you take, they sometimes just split you up randomly and put you on little shuttles with no record of who is on which one) and they CANNOT contact you thru the tour (some drivers have cell phones, some may not) If you are walking around somewhere, the driver will likely not have his phone, etc etc. Well that answered our question. We were considering leaving our two year old son on board for at least the Cozumel portion of the cruise if (and only if) we knew that we could be contacted in the event of an emergency. Thanks for the info, I will move on to either Plan B or C. :) BTW, in regards to those posting about "mommyparanoria": This phenomena is not limited to moms. I guess I am just an overprotective dad. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathergurl Posted July 11, 2006 #14 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Well that answered our question. We were considering leaving our two year old son on board for at least the Cozumel portion of the cruise if (and only if) we knew that we could be contacted in the event of an emergency. Thanks for the info, I will move on to either Plan B or C. :) BTW, in regards to those posting about "mommyparanoria": This phenomena is not limited to moms. I guess I am just an overprotective dad. :) I just read this on the carnival site... All parents with children 5 years old and under will receive a complementary beeper or phone on the first day of the cruise to be used throughout the voyage. This way, parents can be contacted in case a child is seriously unhappy, ill, misbehaving, continuously asking for their parents and, especially, in case of emergencies. Note: Children must be at least two years old to attend Camp Carnival. I hope it helps!!!!!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted July 11, 2006 #15 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I just read this on the carnival site... All parents with children 5 years old and under will receive a complementary beeper or phone on the first day of the cruise to be used throughout the voyage. This way, parents can be contacted in case a child is seriously unhappy, ill, misbehaving, continuously asking for their parents and, especially, in case of emergencies. Note: Children must be at least two years old to attend Camp Carnival. I hope it helps!!!!!!!. The beepers don't work once you walk off the ship though. They are short range beepers. I don't know about the phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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